Mommy in Training

He was coming to find out that everything in the house was practically built of lead.

“You sure you want to give all of these away, Mrs. Wy?”

“Positive.” As if to show him that she had no problems with muscle strain, she gamely tapped her temple. “I’ve got a whole storage closet worth of memories in here. Besides, the library has a new bestseller program. I can get most any book the month it comes out now, so I don’t have to buy the books anymore.”

“But these are in good shape.”

“Brigit at the library wants them, so they’ll be put to good use. They’re sending a truck here to pick them up.”

“I’m glad of that.” At first Matt thought he was going to need to transport the books to the library, too. He wouldn’t have minded, but his back and arms were already releasing a heartfelt sigh.

Sitting on one of the stacks of boxes, perched on the edge like a parakeet, so bright and vivid in her yellow and lime-green jogging suit, Mrs. Wy said, “Matt, we’ve been moving things out here for a whole week. Have you noticed that the place isn’t looking much emptier?”

He’d noticed that from the moment he’d lugged down a mattress and discovered five storage containers underneath it, each filled to the brim. “You, Mrs. Wy, are a pack rat.”

She laughed. “I didn’t think I was…but you may be right.”

“You have four different sets of china.”

She twisted her lips in a pretend pout. “And darn if I can’t use but one cup and plate at a time. Well, don’t worry about that. Minnie’s going to be here any minute to look at those dishes.”

That brought him up short, though he didn’t really know why. Minnie Clark had been a nice kid at one time, and seemed nice enough now. She was pretty to look at, if you were more into the girl-next-door type instead of cover-girl wanna-be’s.

“You close to her?” he asked, figuring he might as well get her whole story since Wanda seemed to be bringing her name up on a regular basis.

“We have gotten close over the years. Minnie is the type of genuine person that comes few and far between.” Mrs. Wy lowered her voice, even though there was just the two of them in the warm garage. “Her last beau was handsome as all get-out, but a real stick-in-the-mud, I’ll tell you that.”

Before he knew it, Matt was perched on a box of books, too, looking out her garage opening at two rows of rosebushes and feasting on gossip. “What happened?”

“Peter decided to move on to a bigger city and left Minnie in a state of shock.” She lowered her voice. “He’d led everyone to believe he was going to propose.”

“He never did?”

She paused and blew out a heartfelt sigh. “Nope. I tell you, when Minnie came knockin’ on my door, all teary-eyed and sputtering, I was sure she was going to be flashing a diamond, not telling me a tale about how Peter had cut and run. She was in a sad state, I’ll tell you that.”

Crossing her knees, Mrs. Wy confided, “I heard his rejection had a lot to do with little Kimber. He didn’t want any part in taking care of another guy’s child, even though that little dear is just about the cutest thing you ever saw.”

Though Matt guessed he could imagine some men not being too interested in a rival’s child, holding it against Minnie for taking in her orphaned niece was a whole other matter. “That guy, Peter, sounds like a—” he tried to come up with a term safe for a lady’s ears “—jerk.”

“Oh, he was a jerk.” Folding her arms over her chest, Mrs. Wy nodded. “It’s good he went. I never liked him anyway. But he could have been nicer about everything, you know? There was no need to just go on out there and trample poor Minnie’s heart. Especially when she was trying to do her best. Nobody deserves that.”

Matt was saved from saying a word by a sunny greeting from the topic of conversation herself. “Hello? Wanda, you around?”

“We’re in the garage!”

Footsteps click-clacked on the cement walkway that led from the front of the house to the garage in the back. Before he knew it, Matt was returning a smile just like the one Minnie was gifting Wanda with. “Hey.”

Her steps faltered. After nodding in his direction, she wandered over to his companion. “Wanda, you shouldn’t be outside in this heat. It’s gotta be ninety degrees in here.”

“I’m always cold. This feels better than that blasted air-conditioning.”

“You can change the thermostat. Raise it higher, you know. Then you won’t be so chilled inside.”

“I’m fine, dear.” Mrs. Wyzecki pointed to the boxes of china. “Matt brought these out, but it’s up to you to choose your set. After you do, Matthew can carry them over to your house.”

Minnie glanced his way. “You don’t need to do that.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Dark brown eyes finally met his, sparking in him a new wave of interest. Minnie was far more than simply pretty, Matt decided. She was…lush.

Mrs. Wy cocked her head, obviously listening for the pitter-patter of tiny feet. “Where’s your shadow?”

Matt liked how Minnie smiled at that.

“Kimber’s helping Mom make cookies today.”

“I was just telling Matt here about what an angel that little pea pod is.”

“I don’t know if angel is the best descriptor, but she is a good girl.” Her voice softening, Minnie added, “I never knew how much I needed hugs at the end of the day until I had her. Now I can’t imagine life without Kimber sleeping down the hall.”

Looking for something to say, Matt stated the obvious. “I’m glad she’s getting settled in.”

A shadow formed behind her eyes. “Well, we’re working on the settling in. Sometimes I think Kimber’s adjusting. Other times, I don’t know if she ever will.”

“Give it a while more. Time heals. It always does,” Mrs. Wy said.

Matt knew those words were true. Too bad Minnie didn’t look as if she agreed. She kept flitting her eyes to him, then to Mrs. Wy, then back to him like a firefly that couldn’t stay away.

Minnie pointed to the boxes. “Wanda, I was thinking…I don’t need any of your dishes.”

“You better take a set, I’ve been planning on it.” Mrs. Wy clucked. “You said you could use them.”

“Y’all are busy. And you don’t need to bother.”

Matt flexed his arms and pretended he felt no pain. Pretended he didn’t feel a pull toward her. Something about Minnie made him want to go all he-man. Maybe because she looked so surprised that someone would go out of his way to help her? “It’s no bother. Believe me, you don’t want to carry them around. Those boxes are heavy.”

“Oh. Well, then, thank you.”

Matt was just thinking that her show of appreciation was definitely lacking when Mrs. Wy got right to the point. “Minnie? You look a little peaked. Is something wrong?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, what is it? Honestly, I haven’t see you so sad since that Peter took off.”

Minnie visibly winced as she turned Matt’s way. “Please don’t tell me Wanda’s been telling you about Peter.”

“Not too much,” he said. But he couldn’t help looking at Minnie meaningfully. “Not too much” meant Mrs. Wy hadn’t yet told him Peter’s social security number.